A browser hijacker is an unwanted program or extension that takes over Chrome: it changes your homepage or search engine, fills the screen with pop-ups, or sends you to sites you didn’t ask for. To remove it, work through the steps below in order. Most of them come from Google’s help page, Remove unwanted ads, pop-ups & malware. Do them on the computer where the problem happens, and restart Chrome when you finish.
- Uninstall programs you don’t recognize.
- Scan your computer with your antivirus.
- Remove extensions you don’t recognize.
- Check whether something has made Chrome “managed”.
- Reset Chrome’s settings.
- Stop pop-ups, notifications and intrusive ads.
- Turn on Enhanced protection.
Chrome no longer has a built-in scan for harmful software on your computer. The old “Clean up computer” option (Chrome Cleanup, a Windows-only feature) was removed from Chrome in October 2023, as Google’s enterprise policy list shows. Older guides that send you there no longer work. Use your computer’s antivirus instead (step 2).
Step 1: Uninstall programs you don’t recognize
Hijackers usually arrive bundled with free software. Google says to check your computer for unwanted programs before you reset Chrome.
Windows:
- Open the Start menu and select Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
- Find a program you don’t recognize or didn’t mean to install.
- Select it, then Uninstall.
Mac:
- Open Finder and select Applications on the left.
- Right-click any program you don’t recognize and select Move to Trash.
- Right-click the Trash and select Empty Trash.
On a Chromebook, Google’s advice is to reset the Chromebook to a safe default. On an Android phone, see the phone section at the end of this page.
Step 2: Scan your computer with your antivirus
On Windows, the built-in Windows Security app can do this. Microsoft’s guide to virus and threat protection in Windows Security describes the options:
- Open the Windows Security app and select Virus & threat protection.
- Select Scan options.
- Choose Full scan, which checks every file and program, and start it.
- If you think something is hiding from the scan, run Microsoft Defender Antivirus (offline scan). It restarts the PC and scans before Windows loads, so save your work first.
On a Mac, or if you use a different antivirus on Windows, run a full scan with the antivirus you already trust.
Step 3: Remove extensions you don’t recognize
- Open Chrome and paste
chrome://extensionsinto the address bar, or select More (the three dots at the top right) > Extensions > Manage extensions. - On any extension you don’t recognize or don’t use, select Remove, then Remove again to confirm.
Be suspicious of an extension that Chrome marks as not listed in the Chrome Web Store and possibly added without your knowledge, or one that arrived with a message that another program on your computer added it. Google’s guide to managing extensions says that when an installed program adds an extension, you can choose Remove the next time you open Chrome.
Step 4: Check whether Chrome is “managed”
Some hijackers install policies, the settings a company uses to control Chrome, so that you can’t change your search engine or remove an extension. To check, select More (the three dots) and look at the bottom of the menu. If it says Managed by your organization on a personal computer, something has set policies. You can see them at chrome://policy and the extensions they force on you at chrome://management.
Google’s page Check if your Chrome browser is managed gives the fix for a personal device: check that you are not signed in with a work or school account, look for policies you don’t recognize, then remove unwanted programs and extensions and reset Chrome, which is what steps 1 to 5 here do. If the computer belongs to your work or school, don’t remove anything. Ask your IT team. Our guide to removing “Managed by your organization” has more detail.
Step 5: Reset Chrome’s settings
- Open Chrome and select More > Settings.
- Select Reset settings > Restore settings to their original defaults > Reset settings.
You can also go straight there with chrome://settings/reset. According to Google’s reset help page, this puts back the default search engine, homepage, startup tabs and New Tab page, unpins tabs, resets site permissions such as pop-ups, clears cookies and site data, and turns off extensions and themes. Your bookmarks and saved passwords are not deleted. Afterwards, turn back on only the extensions you trust. See how to reset Chrome settings for more.
Then set your search engine and homepage the way you want them: change your search engine and set your homepage and startup page.
Step 6: Stop pop-ups, notifications and intrusive ads
Many “hijacked” screens are really a website you once allowed to send notifications. Google’s pop-up help page says that if pop-ups keep coming after you block them, you may be subscribed to a site’s notifications.
- Notifications: open
chrome://settings/content/notificationsand remove or block any site you don’t want to hear from. - Pop-ups and redirects: open
chrome://settings/content/popupsand choose Don’t allow sites to send pop-ups or use redirects. Under Allowed to send pop-ups and use redirects, block any site you don’t trust: select More next to it, then Block. - Intrusive ads: Google recommends this one on its malware page. Select More > Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings > Additional content settings > Intrusive ads, and choose Ads are blocked on sites known to show intrusive or misleading ads.
Step 7: Turn on Enhanced protection
Safe Browsing warns you about dangerous sites, downloads and extensions. Enhanced protection also warns about threats Google didn’t know about before. Select More > Settings > Privacy and security > Security, then choose Enhanced protection (Google’s Safe Browsing help). Then close Chrome, open it again and check that the problem is gone. Restarting the computer can help too.
If it keeps coming back
- Something on the computer is still changing Chrome. Go back to step 1 and look again, and run the offline scan from step 2.
- If Chrome’s Settings page won’t open at all, Google’s advice is to uninstall Chrome, download it again from google.com/chrome and reinstall it. Our reinstall guide walks through it.
- Chrome itself checks your settings each time it starts. If a program changed them, Chrome can put the search engine, homepage, startup pages, pinned tabs and extensions back to their defaults. If you see a notice that Chrome reset your search, that is Chrome undoing a hijack, not a new problem.
- If none of this works, ask in the Chrome Help Community, as Google suggests.
Match the fix to what you are seeing
The steps above are the full clean-up. If you have one symptom, these pages go straight to it:
- Pages send you to sites you didn’t click: remove a redirect virus.
- Tabs open by themselves: why Chrome keeps opening new tabs.
- A new tab shows a page you didn’t choose: fix a New Tab page that was changed.
- Your search engine keeps switching back: fix a search engine that keeps changing.
- Not sure anything is wrong yet: check Chrome for malware.
On an Android phone
Google’s Android version of the malware page gives three steps:
- Restart the phone in Safe mode: press and hold the power button, then touch and hold Power off and confirm. Remove recently downloaded apps one at a time, restarting normally after each, until the problem stops.
- Make sure Play Protect is on: in the Play Store, tap your profile picture > Play Protect > Settings, and turn on Scan apps with Play Protect.
- Stop a site’s notifications: in Chrome, go to the site, tap Page info > Permissions > Notifications, and turn off Show notifications.
Avoid the next one
From Google’s own advice:
- Be wary of sites that may get you to download unwanted software, for example by saying you won a contest or offering paid content for free.
- Be wary of password-protected .zip files, which can slip past antivirus scans.
- Be wary of warnings that your device is infected, especially if you haven’t run a virus scan recently.
- Pay attention to Chrome’s download warnings. Attackers sometimes ask you to turn them off or ignore them.
- If a pop-up about a program update or download looks suspicious, don’t click it. Get the program from its official website instead.